AB0551 CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT AND MALNUTRITION IN PATIENTS WITH SYSTEMIC SCLEROSIS

Background: Previous studies reported a high prevalence of cognitive dysfunction in systemic sclerosis (SSc). Cognitive impairment was estimated to involve 60% to 80% of SSC patients and to be correlated with older age, disease severity, diffuse cutaneous subset and poor quality of life. Objectives: The aim of our study was to evaluate the association between cognitive impairment, nutritional status and the quality of life of SSc patients. Methods: Sixty-eight consecutive SSc patients followed at our Institution were evaluated for cognitive impairment using the validated Italian version of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). Scores Results: A total of 68 SSc patients [47 (69.1%) limited SSc (lSSc) and 21 (30.9%) with diffuse SSc (dSSc), 59 female; mean age 60.2 (±13.4) years; mean disease duration 9 (±8.2) years; mean mRSS 8.1 (±7.6)] were included in the study. Cognitive impairment was identified in 30 (44.1%) SSc patients; the mean MoCA score was 24.7 (±4.3). According to GLIM criteria, 16 (23.5%) patients were malnourished. Compared to patients with a MoCA≥26, patients with cognitive impairment were older (p Conclusion: Cognitive dysfunction is frequently observed in SSc patients and mostly associated with increasing age and number of comorbidities. Malnutrition and cognitive impairment are both associated to QoL but seem to be unrelated. Disclosure of Interests: None declared